Woman Cries Out As Husband Remains Missing For 16 Months After Alleged Abduction In Imo | Sahara Reporters

She said she became suspicious when she called her husband around 9pm on May 6, 2025, only to have an unknown person answer his phone.

A woman, Mrs Funmi Adetona, and wife of a telecommunications worker, Mr Olaoluwa Adetona, has appealed to relevant authorities and the public to help locate her husband, who she said has remained missing since he was allegedly abducted in Imo State on May 6, 2025.

Adetona said her husband, a rollout manager with Globacom, was allegedly abducted while on a site-acquisition assignment in Imo State alongside two expatriates.

She said she became suspicious when she called her husband around 9pm on May 6, 2025, only to have an unknown person answer his phone.

According to her, attempts to speak directly with her husband failed, while the person who answered the call allegedly insulted her before cutting the line.

She said she subsequently contacted her husband’s housemate in Imo state, who informed her that he had also been unable to reach him.

According to her, when she persisted to call her husband’s line she was told that he had been kidnapped.

“It was then he (the receiver of the phone call) told me straight that your husband was kidnapped.

“The kidnappers later demanded N1million before she would be allowed to speak with her husband.

“On contacting Globacom, they advised her not to contact the kidnapper (who was picking her husband’s phone) because the company would handle the situation,” she said.

Adetona said the company didn’t reach out to the family at first; “It was later that we learnt that the two expatriates who were with my husband had been released, while my husband remained in captivity.

According to her, she was subsequently informed by the company that money had been paid and that her husband would be brought back within days.

“It happened on a Tuesday, May 6. All through Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, they were saying they were bringing him,” she said.

Adetona expressed concerns over what she described as inadequate communication from the company to the family since the incident.

She said she travelled to Lagos and Imo in an effort to get information about her husband’s whereabouts, including engagements with company officials and the police as well as the DSS.

According to her, she was repeatedly told that efforts were ongoing to locate him, but the family had not received a clear update on his whereabouts.

“From May, June, July, August, September, November, at the end of the day, they couldn’t tell us anything. They were just going in and out of the offices when we visited the Globacom Lagos office,” she said.

Adetona said the prolonged disappearance had taken a heavy toll on the family, particularly her children, who continued to ask about their father.

She said she had been telling the children that their father had travelled and would soon return.

“But it’s been over a year now. You know, to keep the children wondering, when is our daddy coming back?” she said.

She also disclosed that her father-in-law died on April 6, 2026 due to the incident, while, according to her, the family was still struggling with the uncertainty surrounding her husband’s disappearance.

Adetona said the family’s financial situation had also become difficult because her husband was responsible for supporting the household and assisting his parents.

She said friends, family members and her church had been assisting her and the children.

The distraught wife said the family had recently engaged a lawyer, who had written to the company over the matter.

“Since the incident we have written four letters to Globacom through our lawyers with no response from the company.

“We are being tossed here and there; if the expatriates have been released, where is my husband,” she said.

She also questioned reports that her husband might have been killed, saying the company had not presented evidence confirming his death to the family.

Adetona said the family had seen the vehicle reportedly involved in the incident but observed no bloodstains inside it.

“There was no drop of blood like this in the vehicle. So how could you tell me he must have been shot?” she asked.

She appealed to Globacom and relevant security agencies to intensify efforts to establish what happened to her husband.

Adetona said her major demand was for authorities and the company to help bring him back to his family.

According to her, in September 2025, Globacom started paying her husband’s salary into her account.

“This happened after we went on Agidigbo Radio to call out the company. They came from Lagos to the station and then visited the family in late August 2025.

“It was then that the company’s representatives collected my account details so from September that year my husband’s salary has always been paid into my account with the narration to show that it was his salary,” Adetona said.